Patrol scales back program along St. Louis interstates

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol has scaled back its hours on St. Louis interstate highways following a 90-day pilot program aimed at helping to reduce crime.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch obtained a police memo showing that starting Oct. 14, troopers reduced their presence along Interstate 55 and Interstate 70 to about six hours a day. Troopers had been patrolling those interstates for 21 hours a day since July, when Gov. Eric Greitens announced a plan aimed at allowing city police to focus on dangerous crime.